On confirmed on 18 September 2026 that it is entering football, with Kylian Mbappé at the centre of the project and a first boot due in 2027. That’s the headline. Everything else, including the boot’s name, its price, and whether it will actually be good, is still unknown.
This page exists to answer the questions that matter before you make any decision about On as a boot brand: what has actually been confirmed, what Mbappé’s role really is, what the training prototype does and doesn’t tell us, and what On still has to prove. We’ll keep it updated as more becomes known. It isn’t a review, because there’s nothing to review yet.
On football boots: what we know
Status
In development
First products
Due in 2027
Boot name
Not announced
Price
Not announced
Technology
LightSpray upper confirmed
Laces
Both laced and laceless versions seen in prototype testing
Testers / development partners
Kylian Mbappé and Sydney Schertenleib, with Thierry Henry directing the football programme
FootballBoots verdict
Too early to judge. No independent wear test yet.
Latest: Mbappé wears the first On prototype
In the week following the announcement, Mbappé was pictured training in On football boot prototypes at Real Madrid’s Valdebebas training ground. Multiple outlets, including Footy Headlines and Hypebeast, reported that he had been quietly testing prototypes for several weeks before this. This is the first time an On football boot has been seen on a pitch, and the images below show both a laced and a laceless version in testing.
What the prototype reveals, and what it doesn’t
What’s visible: On is genuinely testing both a laced and a laceless version, rather than having settled on one approach. Beyond that, we’re not going to invent detail that isn’t reliably there. No outlet we’ve reviewed has given a source-confirmed description of the upper’s panel construction or the soleplate and stud layout, so treat anything more specific than “laced and laceless concepts exist” as speculation until On or a credible outlet confirms it.
What we can say with more confidence: a training prototype worn roughly a year ahead of the stated 2027 retail date is very unlikely to be the final product. Development boots change significantly between an early training sample and what eventually reaches shelves, in fit, materials, and soleplate. Treat this sighting as evidence that development is genuinely underway and that both lacing approaches are live options, not as a preview of the finished boot.
Mbappé’s role with On
Mbappé’s move ended a roughly 20-year relationship with Nike. With On, his role goes beyond wearing the boots: On says he is working directly with its product teams on the development and testing of future football footwear and apparel, in the same collaborative model the brand has used with Roger Federer in tennis since 2019.
Mbappé is On Football’s global figurehead, product-development partner and an equity participant in the company. On has described the agreement as an entrepreneurial relationship containing cash and equity incentives, a description CityAM attributed to an On spokesperson. That’s a materially different arrangement to a conventional boot sponsorship: Mbappé’s own financial outcome is now tied to whether On’s football push succeeds, not just to wearing the product. On hasn’t disclosed the size of his stake or the value of the deal, and we’re not going to guess at either.
Who is building On Football?
Thierry Henry is On’s Director of Football. He’s been working on the brand’s entry into football since late 2025, with a central role in its strategic development covering product, athlete relationships, and how On approaches football culture more broadly.
Sydney Schertenleib, the Switzerland and Barcelona player, joined On in December 2025 as a Training and Lifestyle ambassador. Her role now extends to working directly with On’s teams on product development and testing, with a specific focus on insight for the women’s game.
On isn’t starting from nothing. It brings more than 15 years of performance footwear engineering and an athlete-led testing culture from running, tennis and other sports. Football makes very different demands: close ball touch, sharp changes of direction, stud pressure, lockdown under load, and repeated contact with the ball and the ground. On has a credible technical foundation to build from, but none of it has been proven in football yet.
What LightSpray could bring to football boots
LightSpray is confirmed manufacturing fact, not a football claim: a robotic arm sprays a continuous filament around a last to build a seamless, one-piece upper, instead of cutting and stitching panels together. On has used it in running since 2024, when Hellen Obiri won the Boston Marathon in a development version.
What On is targeting for football is separate from what’s already proven. On’s stated aim is a boot that is “exceptionally lightweight, precise, and close to the athlete like a second skin”, and the brand talks about a barefoot-like connection to the ball. That’s On’s design ambition, not a description of a finished product. A seamless, ultra-thin upper doesn’t automatically produce good ball touch or reliable lockdown during a match; those depend on how the material behaves under load, moisture and repeated contact, which hasn’t been tested at retail yet.
One genuine advantage of the process: because LightSpray can turn a digital design change into a physical prototype quickly, athlete feedback from Mbappé and Schertenleib can be worked into the boot throughout development, rather than bolted on near the end. That’s a plausible reason rapid prototyping could help, not a guarantee the final boot will be better for it.
On also brings CloudTec (cushioning) and Speedboard (stiffness and propulsion) from running. Their most likely value in football is the underlying knowledge, pressure management, energy return, plate geometry, rather than a literal transfer of visible CloudTec pods or a running-style plate into a football soleplate. On says it is developing football-specific stud layouts and fits. How the final plate balances traction, release, flexibility and stud pressure remains unknown, and running-shoe knowledge doesn’t automatically solve it.
What On still has to prove
This is FootballBoots analysis, not an On claim. If you want the general fundamentals of what makes a boot fit and perform well before judging a new entrant like On, our guide to choosing football boots covers that. Five things we’ll be watching before we’re willing to say anything close to a recommendation:
- Upper and touch. LightSpray could reduce seams, panels and weight, but thinness on its own doesn’t produce a controlled or natural ball touch. That comes from how the material behaves when it’s wet, stretched and repeatedly struck.
- Lockdown and fit. A close-to-foot upper still has to stop the foot moving inside the boot during cuts, turns and acceleration. Running shoes aren’t built to resist lateral load the way football boots are.
- Soleplate. This is the biggest unknown of all. Running-shoe knowledge doesn’t automatically solve stud pressure, traction, release, torsional support or multidirectional movement, all football-specific problems On has never had to solve before.
- Durability and conditions. The upper has to survive ball impact, abrasion, repeated flexing, moisture and real use on natural-grass pitches over a season, not just a training session or two.
- Value. Until pricing, construction and durability are known, we can’t say whether On will compete on performance, on prestige, or both.
Release date, price and availability
On has said its first football products are due in 2027. No exact date, no price, and no official product name have been announced. Based on how On sells its existing ranges, the most likely route to market is on.com, On’s own stores, and selected retail partners, but On hasn’t confirmed distribution specifically for football, so treat that as our best expectation rather than a confirmed fact. We’ll update this section the moment any of it is confirmed.
About On
On, one of the newest names among the football boot brands we cover, began in the Swiss Alps in 2010, when former professional athlete Olivier Bernhard joined David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti with one goal: to change the sensation of running. Bernhard’s early experiments led to CloudTec, and the brand grew from a small running start-up into a global performance and lifestyle name. Roger Federer joined as a co-owner and product collaborator in 2019, helping On expand into tennis using the same model it’s now applying to football: involving elite athletes directly in product development rather than treating them as sponsored faces. LightSpray launched in 2024. On formally entered football on 18 September 2026, appointing Thierry Henry as Director of Football and placing Kylian Mbappé at the centre of the project ahead of a first commercial boot in 2027.
“Football needs new ideas and a challenge to what is possible. When we enter a sport, we want to be the brand of the future, through true innovation and contemporary design. With Kylian we have the perfect partner to dream what football can become.”
David Allemann, Founder and co-CEO of On
FAQs
Is On making football boots?
Yes. On confirmed its move into football on 18 September 2026, with a first boot due in 2027.
When will On football boots be released?
On has said 2027. No exact date has been announced.
What is the first On football boot called?
On hasn’t announced a name yet.
Is Kylian Mbappé still with Nike?
No. His roughly 20-year relationship with Nike ended in September 2026 when he joined On.
What is Mbappé’s role with On?
He’s On Football’s global figurehead and works directly with On’s product teams on developing and testing future football footwear and apparel.
Does Mbappé have equity in On?
Yes. On has described the arrangement as an entrepreneurial relationship containing cash and equity incentives. On hasn’t disclosed the size of the stake.
Will the boot use LightSpray?
On says LightSpray, its robotic spray-on upper technology, will be adapted for football.
Will the first On boot be laceless?
Both laced and laceless versions have been seen in prototype testing. Which reaches retail, or whether both do, hasn’t been confirmed.
How much will On football boots cost?
Price hasn’t been announced.
Where will they be sold?
Most likely on.com, On’s own stores and selected retail partners, based on how On sells its other ranges, but this hasn’t been confirmed specifically for football.
Has FootballBoots.co.uk tested the On boot?
No. We haven’t independently tested a representative retail version of the boot. Everything here is based on On’s own announcements and credible reporting on the training prototype. We’ll test it properly once a retail version exists.
Sources: On’s official announcement (on.com/football). This page will be updated as On releases further information.
